Manasseh King Of Judah Strayed Far From God - Christian Perspectives
When Hezekiah was king of Judah he did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight. Manasseh, his son succeeded him as the next king of Judah.
Even though he was raised in a godly home, his life was anything but godly. Did you ever wonder why some children love to be bad?
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king and he reigned fifty-five years . . . He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 2 Kings 21:1,2
Hezekiah became king while he was in his twenties and he witnessed the evil that his father Ahaz did. Yet the scripture complimented him because he turned Judah back to the Lord.
Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses. 2 Kings 18:5-6
Why Did Manasseh Do Evil
Manasseh never saw the evil his grandfather Ahaz did, because he was born into a nation that worshiped God. Our verse for today, however, says Manasseh as king of Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 2 Kings 21:2
Then the next few verses describe these practices.
- He rebuilt the pagan shrines.
- He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole.
- Also he bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.
- He built pagan altars in the Temple of the Lord,
- Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire.
- He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics.
- Manasseh even made a carved image of Asherah and set it up in the Temple. 2 Kings 21:3-7
Why do you think King Manasseh turned himself and Judah away from the Lord? We could make some guesses, but specifically, we don’t know. We must instead, give thought to our own children.
One thing we know is we don’t have to teach our children how to misbehave or become ungodly. Society and culture are more than willing to move them in that direction.
Sunday School teachers and youth leaders are very important in the development of our children. But parents must take the lead in both the teaching of and being a role model to them.
Being a pastor, I do baby dedications. The first people I ask for a dedication from are the child’s parents. They must commit themselves to raise their child in the ways of the Lord.
Dedicate Your Children to God
Look at the wording of The Passion Translation of Proverbs 22:6
Dedicate your children to God and point them in the way that they should go, and the values they’ve learned from you will be with them for life. Proverbs 22:6
A friend of mine who is now 80 years of age is a devout Christian. After being raised in a godly home, he walked away from the Lord as a teenager.
But because of the values he learned from his parents, he has been serving the Lord for the last 40 years or so.
King Manasseh Turned Judah back to God
By the way King Manasseh did come back to the Lord later in life also. The Bible says that he prayed to God after he experienced great distress.
And when he prayed, the Lord listened to him and was moved by his request. So the Lord brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the Lord alone is God! 2 Chronicles 33:13
Raise your children to serve God. If they stray, PRAY, and trust God to keep them and bring them back.
Lord, we don’t need to ask how come some children love to be bad? We know why. We live in a godless society that is highly influenced by the enemy of our souls. Put a hedge of protection around our children. And help us to be the best godly role model that we can be.
You can read about Manasseh King of Judah in 2 Kings 21 and 2 Chronicles 33.
I have also written a related post on Manasseh called Are You One Who Has Aroused God’s Anger Lately?
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